Container



Jan. 7, 1936.

V. K. LE COMTE CONTAINER Filed April 17, 1933 INVENTOR Vz'cfar /f l e(1G/7127:

B [amg] ab ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. "7, .1936

This. invention -s PATENT cFF'lcE CONTAINER Victor K. Le Comte,Forest'lills, N. to Le Comte & Co., Inc., Brooklyn,

poration of New York Y., assignor N. Y., a cor- Application April 17, 1933, Serial N0. 666,401

9 Claims.

relates to containers, such as cans constructed .of .tin or similarmaterial, and has for its principal object to provide a container.adapted to be securelycovered or sealed.

A related object is to enable a container or can to be covered in such amanner that the coverA cannot be removed without considerable damage tothe container orcover, or both.

Containers according to this invention are particularly suitable forenclosing or packing substances such as perishable foods which shouldnot be permitted to be exposed at anytime between the packing and theultimate use. f.

Some foods, of which oysters are a typical example, are required by lawto be packed in such a manner that no opening of the container ispossible without ready detection of the unauthorized exposure of theenclosed product. tainer, in accordance with this invention,

The conis well suited to meet this requirement. Since parts of thecontainer are vopening ofV the same,

automatically damaged by any it is impossible to again close or seal upthe container afterl it is once opened; hence no such surreptitiousopening is practicable.

In a preferred embodiment,

the invention comprises a can member provided with a cover mem-1 beradapted to be sprung into place at the top l of the can. For thispurpose, -one of the members, preferably the can or container itself, isprovided at its open end or edge witha resilient rim adapted to engagewith a corresponding bead onl the edge of the other member.

The bead and the resilient rim, when in the normal condition, are ofslightly different diameters, so that when the cover is applied to thecontainer, the bead strains the resilient rim somewhat in moving pastthe rim to its proper closedposition. whereupon; the' rim reverts to itsnormal condition and bears against the bead'so that the cover cannot bereadily removed.

The invention will be more fully understood by reference to the attacheddrawing of which:

Fig'.` 1 is a View,

to this invention;

partly in section, of a container with a cover Iin the clamped position,according and Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing in greaterdetail the portions of construction of the engaging the container andcover.

Referring to the drawing, the container structure is a can IIIcomprising a cylindrical portion insert an instrument, such to thoseskilled in the art of can manufacture. The circular bottom portion I2 isjoined to the lower edge of the cylindrical portionby turning up acircular seam III in a manner also well understood in the art. For thepurpose of obtaining 5 increased' strength and rigidity near the openedge Iof the container, a strengthening bead I5 is formed on thecylindrical wall somewhat below the edge. 'I'he edge of the cylindricalwall at the open end ofthe container is curled over to form l0 aresilient curled rim I6 within the circular edge at the topofthe can.

The can cover I1 is formed-by turning up the outer portion, orperimeter, of a at circular piece of the material to form an outercircumference, l5 or edge I8, which will fit within the `top of thecontainer. There is formed on the outer circumference I8 a bead I9 and aflange 20, the flange being y formed by curling over the edge of themetal, as shown. The flange is of greater diameter than 20 the bead;that is, about the diameter of the can. The diameter of the bead I9 isslightly greater than the normal inside diameter of the curled rim I6within the top of the can, so that when the cover is forced into place,the bead presses against 25 the curled rim, thereby straining the latterto an increased diameter. This increased diameter of the rim may be due,in part, to a straining at the side seam 'I3. In the ultimate clampedposition, thebead assumes a positionbeyond theA curled 30 rim, as shownin the drawing, so that the rim reverts to its normal diameter, thelower edge of the rim resting on the upper surface of the bead. Thisupper surface of the bead is in thev form of `a substantially horizontalengaging ledge, as 35 shown, upon which the lower engaging edge of therim tightly rests. The cover is thus firmly clamped in position by meansofthe curled rim I6, the upper edge of which contacts the flange 20 'ofthe cover and the lower edge of which is in contact 40 with-bead I9.Since the flange 20 is formed' of a curled edge, it possesses naturalresiliency, and the curled rim I6 is tightly and resiliently heldbetween the flange and the bead of the cover.

In order to remove the cover, it is necessary to as a screwdriver,belange of the lcover and the upper edge of the curled rim, or otherwisepermanently deform the component parts. The bead I 9 will then be forcedpast the rim I6, thus tearing out and injuring the rim, because of thewidth of the bead, or the cover will be so deformed that it cannot.again be clamped into place in the regular mantween the ner. Aninspection of Fig. 2 clearly shows that such permanentdeformation of theparts must 55 necessarily occur because of the direction from which theengaging edge of the curled rim I6 contacts the engaging ledge of thebead l 9. There is quite a wide angle between the ledge of bead I9 andItshe direction of engagement of the edge of rim It is not essential tothe operation of this invention that the arrangement of the bead and rimbe exactlyas that shown in the drawing. For example, the resilient rimmight be in the form of a curl on the outside, instead of the inside, of

the open end of the can. Another arrangement might be that in which theresilient rim is formed on the cover and the bead upon the can. In thislatter arrangement, it would be desirable to form the ilange also uponthe can.

I claim:

l. In combination, a container having a substantially continuousresilient rim formed by an open curl within the top of said container,said curl providing an engaging edge, and a cover adapted to be clampedon the open end of said container, said cover being provided with anouty er circumferential bead having an engaging ledge,

said rim and said bead being located with respect'l tov each other sothat in moving to the clamped position said bead moves past said rim andresiliently strains said rim in passing,'and when in the clampedposition said rim reverts to its normal unstrained condition, the outerdiameter of said ledge being sufllciently greater than the normaldiameter of said engaging edge, and said ledge making such an angle withrespect to said edge, as to prevent said bead from moving out of saidclamped position without permanently deforming said bead or said rim.

2. In combination, a container member and a cover member adapted toclamp on said container member, one of said' members being provided witha bead having a substantially horizontal ledge and the other of saidmembers being provided with a substantially continuous resilient rimformed by an open curl providing an engaging edge, the provision andarrangement being such that when said cover member is moved toward theclamped position, lsaid bead engages and resiliently strains said rim,and when actually in the clamped position said bead assumes a positionbeyond said rim whereupon said rim reverts to its normal unstrainedcondition, said ledge being of such width and said engaging edgecontacting said horizontal ledge from such an angle as to retainsecurely said cover in the clamped position, and prevent said cover frombeing removed without permanent deformation of a member.

3.. In combination, a cylindrical container member and a circular covermember adapted to clamp on the open end of said container member, one ofsaid members having a substantially continuous circumferential resilientrim having an engaging edge and the other member having acircumferential bead formed by an open curl providing-an engaging edge,the provision and arrangement being such that when said cover member ismoved toward the clamped position, said bead passes and resilientlyvstrains said rim in passing, and when actually in the clamped positionsaid bead is located beyond said rim, whereupon said rim returns to its4normal unstrained condition, said ledge being of such width and saidedge contacting said ledge from such an angle that said edge restspositively upon said ledge in such a manner that said cover membercannot be withdrawn from the clamped position without permanentlydefrming at least one of said members, thereby securely retaining saidcover in said clamped position.

4. In combination, a cylindrical container hav- 5 ing a substantiallycontinuous circumferential resilient rim formed by an open curlproviding an engaging edge at its open end, and a cover adapted to beclamped to said. open end, said cover having a circumferential beadprovided with an engaging ledge, the normal diameters of said bead andsaid rim being somewhat different and suchthat said rim obstructs thepassage of said bead, whereby when said cover is being moved toward theclamped position, said bead moves past said rim and resiliently strainssaid rim in passing, said bead when in the clamped position beinglocated behind said rim and being securely held beyond said rim whichthen reverts to the normal unstrained condition, said ledge being ofsuch width and said edge contacting said ledge from such an angle thatsaid edge rests positively upon said ledge in such a manner that saidcover cannot be withdrawn from the clamped position without permanentlydeforming said rim, thereby securely retaining the cover in the clampedposition.

5. In combination, a cylindrical container having a circumferentialresilient rim formed by an open `curl providing an engaging edge, withinthe open end thereof, and a cover adapted to be clamped upon said openend, said cover having an outer circumferential bead and acircumferential resilient ilange above said bead, the diameter of saidbead being somewhat greater than the normal diameter of said rim,whereby when said cover is being moved toward the clamped position, saidbead moves past said rim, and resiliently strains said rim to thediameter of said bead, but upon reaching the clamped position, said beadassumes a position beyond said rim, said rim then returning to itsnormal unstrained condition, said ange then engaging with the open endof said container and said edge engaging with said bead at a wide angle,whereby said cover is securely clamped by the resilient engagement ofsaid rim between said bead and said resilient ange.

6. In combination, a cylindrical container having the open end thereofcurled over within the top of said container to form a resilient rimhaving an engaging edge, and a cover adapted to be clamped upon saidopen end, said cover having formed thereon a protruding circumferentialbead and a protruding resilient ange of greater diameter than said bead.the diameter of said bead being slightly greater than the normal insidediameter of said rim, whereby when said cover is being moved toward theclamped position, said bead moves past said rim and resilientlyincreases the diameter of said rim to that of said bead, but uponreaching the clamped position, said bead assumes a position beyond saidrim such that saltil rim reverts to its normal unstrained condition andsaid ange resiliently engages with the open end of. said container,whereby said cover is securely clamped by the engagement of the engagingedge of said rim with said bead and of said resilient flange with said open end. n 7. In combination, a container member and a cover memberadapted to clamp on the open end of said container member, one of saidmembers being provided with a angevand with a bead having asubstantially horizontal ledge and the other of said members beingprovided with a 's substantially continuous resilient rim formed by anopen curl providing an engaging edge, theprovision and arrangement beingsuch that when said cover; member is moved toward the clamped position,said bead engages and resilientlystrains 'said rim, and when finally lnthe yclamped position said bead-.assumes a position beyond said rim andsaid flange presses against a corresponding surface of said rim,whereupon said rim reverts to its normal unstrained condition in such amanner that said engaging edge rests tightly on said ledge, therebysecurely retaining said' cover in the clamped position by reason of thetight engagementof said rim between said bead and said flange, the widthof said ledge being sufflcient, and the angle which said engaging edgemakes with said horizontal ledge being sumcient, to prevent said covermemberi from being removd from the clamped position without permanent'deformation of a member. v

8. In combination, a cylindrical container and y af cover therefor, saidcontainer having a substantially continuous resilient rim near its openvedge and said cover havingv a circular bead for engaging Ysaid rim andalso a resilient flange formed by a' circumferential curl for engagingsaid edge, said 4riru and said bead being located with respect to` eachother so that'I when said cover moves toward the clamped position saidbead -moves past said rim andl resiliently strains said rim in passing,and when .in the clamped position, said bead is beyond said rim and inengagement therewith `and said flange is in resilient engagement withsaid edge, whereby said rim re- 3 verts to its normal unstrainedcondition said cover is securelyclamped by the'engagement of said beadwith said rim and of said resilient flange" with said edge. said beadhaving al ledge of such width, and the edge or said rim contacting said5 protruding from the outer circumference thereof, 15

said bead having an engaging ledge, the normal outside diameter of saidbead being greater than the normal inside diameter of said rim, wherebywhen said cover is lbeing moved toward the clamped position said beadmoves past said rim 20l and resiliently strains said rim in passingjsaidbead when inthe, clamped position being located beyond` said rim whichthen reverts to the normal unstrained condition, in such a manner thatsaid engaging edgev positively engages said en-'25 gaging ledge, theouter diameter oi' said ledge lbeing sumciently greater than the normaldi-fr ameter. of said engaging edge, and said ledge making such an'anglewith respect to said edge, that said cover cannot be removed withoutperma- 30 nently deforming said rim, thereby securely re-2 taining saidcover in the. clamped position.

